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Metro Vancouver’s Boundary Bay Park and Centennial Beach

Centennial Beach at Boundary Bay

Located in Tsawwassen, Boundary Bay is a Metro Vancouver Park. Home to Centennial Beach, it’s a popular spot for walks and playing at the ocean.

Sitting right beside the Canada-US border by Point Roberts, the park is a great place to explore with walking trails, bird-watching opportunities and one of the best beaches in the Lower Mainland.

 

Boundary Bay and Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen

Boundary Bay is a reasonably large bay that touches land in both Canada and the United States. In fact, it’s big enough that parts of it has different names! The area near White Rock and Blaine, Washington is known as Semiahmoo Bay, while the most northern bit near Delta is known as Mud Bay.

The most popular section of the bay is in Tsawwassen and other parts of Delta. There is where you’ll find Boundary Bay Regional Park as well as Centennial Beach, the most popular beach in the area.

 

Boundary Bay in Tsawwassen

 

Boundary Bay Regional Park

Located mostly in Tsawwassen and close to the American border, Boundary Bay Regional Park is a nice place to explore year-round. This is especially the case for nature lovers. There are over 15 km of trails that loop around the park, including the main 12th Avenue Dyke Trail that has a viewing platform on one end.

All the trails are easy terrain so you don’t need to worry if you have mobility issues. They are good for walking, cycling, running and even horseback riding in some parts!

The park does have opening and closing hours. During the summer it’s open from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm. Other times of the year the hours are a bit shorter (but can change). Dogs are allowed in the park but must be kept on leash at all times as there are some protected environmental areas.

 

Boundary Bay Bird-Watching

Boundary Bay is a crucial habitat for birds. It’s a designated Hemisphere Reserve and Canadian Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. The reason for this is because the bay is an extremely popular rest stop for migrating birds.

During migration season there can be upwards of tens of thousands of birds at any given time around the bay. If you like birds then bring some binoculars or a camera and check out the massive variety of animals on display.

Of course, all visitors must remember that this is a protected area. Any environmental damage to this area would have massive effects on the birds who frequent it. This is why pets must be kept on leash and also why you should stay far enough away. Admire the birds from a safe distance! They’ll appreciate it.

 

Trail at Boundary Bay

 

Centennial Beach at Boundary Bay

The most popular beach in Tsawwassen, Centennial Beach sits along the Dyke Trail and is a great place to relax during the summer.

What makes this beach so interesting is how shallow it is. There’s often massive stretches of ankle to waist-deep water, or even various patches of dry land. You have to walk out a long way to get deeper than that!

What this means is that the water at Centennial Beach is often warmer than just about any other beach in the Lower Mainland. Of course, warm by Vancouver standards still isn’t tropical, but it’s definitely nice.

Centennial Beach isn’t the place to go if you’re looking for waves or massive plunges. However, if you’re looking for a pleasant spot to splash around and relax in the water, it’s one of the best places in the area.

 

Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen
Centennial Beach at Boundary Bay Park

 

Delta Polar Bear Swim

No matter how shallow the water is, no Vancouver beach will be warm during the winter. Despite this, some brave souls take on Centennial Beach every January 1st for the Delta Polar Bear Swim.

While definitely not the biggest Polar Bear Swim around, this one does finish with some fun awards at the end. They include “oldest participant”, “person travelling from the farthest distance” and “best swimmers”.

 

Polar Bear at Delta's Centennial Beach
Polar Bear Swim at Centennial Beach

 

Boundary Bay Marathon

Centennial Beach is also where the Boundary Bay Marathon begins and ends. The event usually takes place in November and features 5 km, 10 km, half marathon and relay races. It’s one of many annual running events hosted by Try Events. As with other runs in the series, the one in Delta comes with a finisher’s medal, some sort of clothing and the chance to win random prizes. The fastest runners in each race also receive special medals.

 

Other Information

For more information, check out Metro Vancouver’s Boundary Bay Regional Park webpage.

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